From a press release provided today by the American Association of Equine Practitioners:

The American Association of Equine Practitioners’ Foundation has announced the release of its new study assessing the opinions of AAEP members regarding priorities in equine health care research. The second study of its kind, the 2009 AAEP Membership Equine Research Study was conducted to assist the equine industry in directing its financial support of equine research projects.

Study results indicate that the equine body systems of highest research priority are musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, respiratory, endocrine and nervous system, ranked respectively. Respondents also ranked laminitis, colic, arthritis, tendon injuries and navicular disease as the five priorities in the category of equine disease or condition. Regarding new technologies that require more funding, horse-side laboratory tests, regenerative medicine and imaging are considered the most important.